New York City Skyline - Empire State Building and Midtown Manhattan Skyscrapers

- By Vivienne Gucwa

Being above the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan makes the mind and heart pause.

It's hard to take in the immensity of the view especially after sunset when all of the city's lights flicker like stars in a sky suspended upside down over an ocean full of clouds.

But, after a few moments, something else happens.

The mind reels, tipsy after taking its first, lingering sip of the cityscape.

And, with giddy eagerness, questions and curiosity start to take over as the eyes wander over every roof and into every window, past the fast moving traffic that zips across the city streets like shooting stars.

How many dreams are bursting forth, ready to propel themselves from the minds of urban dreamers: out from inside the walls, offices, apartments, and houses that contain them?

How many hopes are being uttered at the same time?

How many love songs are being sung?

How many hearts are being broken as other hearts are connecting?

And as the sun dips below the horizon letting the urban stars hang brightly in their own universe, the city speeds on at its own pace as someone else begins pondering variations on the same series of thoughts...

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This is a view of the Empire State Building and the New York City skyline as seen from Top of the Rock. It's a long exposure and the view is looking south towards lower Manhattan. One World Trade Center (or 1 WTC - also known as the Freedom Tower) can be seen in the distance to the right of the Empire State Building.
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Midtown Manhattan Skyscrapers and Streets from Above

- By Vivienne Gucwa
I have been afraid of heights since I can remember. Even stepping on a tall foot stool would send me into a frenzied panic. It's partially a control issue and partially an irrational fear of the eternal "what if" quandary related to my own mortality. And yet, I have discovered as I get older that there is something supremely thrilling about being high up above things especially being high up above New York City. It's the same scattered sense of adrenaline-fueled excitement I get when I consider the vastness of the ocean. And in some ways, I think both vantage points offer the same sense of displaced wonder.
A month or so ago, I watched an absolutely incredible video called Overview which examined something called the Overview Effect. "The Overview Effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface." I can't recommend the video highly enough. It's a 15 minute short film that explores different astronaut's life-altering experiences viewing the earth from above for the first time. The footage of earth from above in the film is overwhelming. It's an emotional journey of a film that definitely has lodged its way into my consciousness. Here it is: http://vimeo.com/55073825
A few years back, when I went to the Top of the Rock, I had such an incredibly visceral reaction when I experienced seeing the city from above. It was rough for me to even take the elevator up 70 floors to the observation deck. I clenched my sweaty fists and closed my eyes the whole time deep breathing probably much to the amusement (or dread) of the fellow elevator passengers. Once I stepped out and onto the upper deck, I was hooked. It was as if I was seeing the city for the first time. Once you take yourself out and away from the streets that surround you, it's as if the city opens up its arms to you. It's fascinating to consider all of the activity and stories that are contained in any one part of such a view.
In the short film I linked above, one of the astronauts describes the Overview Effect saying that common features include a feeling of awe for the planet, and a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life among other perspective-shifting feelings. And I really think that anytime we take ourselves high above or deep below the reality we experience every day, it produces different (subtler and perhaps more overwhelming in regards to the ocean) versions of the Overview Effect.
Since experiencing that amazing feeling when I pushed past my fear of heights to take myself high above my own every-day reality, I have actively pushed myself to seek out as many high vantage points as I can. This particular image was taken high above the 59th Street Bridge (also known as the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge) entrance overlooking the buildings and skyscrapers that make up the New York City skyline in midtown Manhattan.
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New York City Skyline - Skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan from Above

- By Vivienne Gucwa

Late summer light

hangs over the city:

humid-laden heartache

tinged with heavy hope

and hazy promises.

Where the winter brings a crystal sharp clarity to New York City, the summer seems to bring with it a gorgeous, bittersweet gauze-like haze. Summers in New York City cling to the ribs and heart like ethereal remnants of distant thoughts peeking their heads out of the sea of heat and humidity.

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This is a view of the roof tops, skyscrapers, water towers and streets of midtown Manhattan as viewed from above.

New York City Rooftops - From Above - Midtown Skyscrapers

- By Vivienne Gucwa
These are the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan from above as seen from the top of Rockefeller Center (Top of the Rock). Looking out over these time and weather-worn buildings, it's almost incredible to think of the sheer amount of activity occurring behind each tiny-eyed window at any given time.
This is a scene that peaks in the teasing warmth of winter sunlight as the sun dips towards the horizon in the late afternoon. With rooftops covered with a light glaze of snow and with sultry exhales of smoke billowing out into the late afternoon sunlight, the city basks momentarily in distant memories of summer.
When I was younger, I used to imagine how incredible it would be to fly through the city like Batman. I would close my eyes and imagine dipping into the dark,narrow valleys created by tall skyscraper peaks. I would ascend up past the multitudes of water towers to distant rooftops where I would bide my time while seeking out other routes to glide through (in my imagination Batman took quite a few joyrides through the city!).
I still like to imagine these things. It's probably why I love views that take me above the hustle and bustle of the city. There is a peace that seems to come with viewing the cityscape from above.
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New York City Rooftops Above Midtown

- By Vivienne Gucwa
The city is comprised of so many tiny urban worlds: planets and stars that inhabit a larger universe. Until I understood that fact about New York City, I couldn't properly begin to understand how to explore it.
When you spend your days looking out of any number of windows in a city as large as New York City, the urban world seems to shrink to include only the views that you are accustomed to seeing on a regular basis.
Therefore, when you come across a view that takes you out of your small urban frame of reference and plants you outside of that view and outside of yourself for a few moments, it's a bit finally coming to an understanding that the world you inhabit daily is just part of a larger picture.
And as your universe expands when you stand on a rooftop gazing out onto the planets and stars that populate its view, pieces of you expand along with it and you are changed forever.
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Flight - The New York City Skyline From Above

- By Vivienne Gucwa
Driven by an imagination stirred by visions Batman flying through Gotham, I used to have vivid dreams when I was younger of flying through the skyscrapers that are part of the midtown Manhattan skyline.
This cluster of skyscrapers is one of my favorites. These buildings seem to huddle together in a solemn solidarity: titans comprised of multitudes of urban aspirations.
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Manhattanhenge Sunset Overlooking 42nd Street and Times Square - New York City

- By Vivienne Gucwa
There is nothing quite like the intensity of seeing the sun spread it's light like wildfire through the streets of midtown Manhattan. The red light glows with the ferocity of a supernova showering its splendor onto the urban landscape.
In honor of tonight's Manhattanhenge sunset which may or may not be hidden by storm clouds since New York City's weather has been highly unpredictable and stormy as of late, this is a photo I took exactly a year ago during last year's Manhattanhenge. The buildings in this photo are the buildings in Times Square (you can make out the Madame Tussauds sign).
Manhattanhenge is a semiannual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The term is derived from Stonehenge, at which the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices. It was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist who is the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History.
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Touching the Sky - The Chrysler Building - New York City

- By Vivienne Gucwa
If you are fortunate enough to look up at exactly the right time, you can catch the sun dancing along the top of the Chrysler Building.
As the sun glides across the iconic spire, it leaves glimmering trails: shimmering footsteps connecting the sky to the city.
The Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture. Designed by architect William Van Alen for a project of Walter P. Chrysler, it was the headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation from 1930 until the mid 1950’s. Even though the building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for the construction of it and never owned it, as Walter P. Chrysler decided to pay for it himself, so that his children could inherit it. Upon its completion on May 20, 1930, the added height of the spire allowed the Chrysler Building to surpass 40 Wall Street as the tallest building in the world and the Eiffel Tower as the tallest structure. It was the first man-made structure to stand taller than 1,000 feet.
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